Social Change Wheel:
Models of Community Involvement
Direct Service
(activities that help make the world a little brighter for everyone):
 biking, taking public transportation or carpooling to work or
school
 shopping at stores which give back to the communities they
are located in directly
 visit the www.TheHungerSite.com each day to order free food
for the hungry
 recycle paper, aluminum, glass, newspapers, plastic, etc.
(activities which raise awareness and/or change people’s
actions or attitudes about important social issues utilizing a
range of educational approaches):
 speaking to community groups about
homelessness, crime and recycling in their local
community
 educating community groups through theater on
AIDS/HIV prevention strategies or human rights
issues
 developing experiential workshops for groups to
increase multicultural understanding
Socially
Responsible
Daily
Behavior
Community/
Economic
Development
Advocacy
through
Community
Education
(activities that identify and increase the human and/or economic
assets of a neighborhood/community):
 completing a neighborhood assets inventory
 assisting with small business development or job skills
development
 offering leadership workshops to local residents
 working to set up health care clinics and training
community members on public health issues.
Voting/Formal
Political
Activities
Direct Action
Strategies
Community
Building
(activities that build trusting relationships among individuals and groups
around issues of common concern):
 participating in the national Million Man/Woman March
 interviewing residents to document the history of a
neighborhood
 participating in emergency relief efforts after a flood,
earthquake, tornado or hurricane
 planting a community garden with other residents in your
community as part of neighborhood revitalization efforts
(activities which address immediate needs, but not always the conditions from which these
needs emerge):
 improving literacy skills of children, youth and adults through tutoring and teaching
 serving food at a soup kitchen or shelter
 answering calls for a suicide or sexual assault crisis hotline
Grass-roots
Political Activity
Public Policy Work
(activities that identify allies, build common ground, and implement
strategies for changing public policy):
 door-to-door campaigning for clean water action
 lobbying for additional funding to build affordable housing
 organizing a letter writing campaign urging Congress to
change existing welfare policy
(activities that mobilize people to influence public policy
through formal political channels--campaign work, voting,
voter registration):
 organizing voter registration drives
 working on a political campaign
 creating or distributing candidates’ profiles
including records of support on various public issues
(activities that use confrontation or public disobedience as a
strategy for raising awareness of an issue or to change
policy):
 picketing or holding candlelight vigil at the state
capital
 participating in Take Back the Night rallies and
marches to protest sexual and domestic violence
 organizing rallies to demand support for programs
benefiting disadvantaged or underserved children
Adapted by Career & Community Learning Center,
University of Minnesota from a publication by
Minnesota Campus Compact, 1996
© UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA